Abducted Italian journalists reported freed in Syria

The Italian Foreign Minister announced in a statement on April 13,
2013, that four Italian journalists abducted in northern Syria on April 4, 2013,
had been released. News accounts reported that the journalists were believed to have been
held for more than a week by the rebel group, Jabhat Al-Nusra, which is
affiliated with Al-Qaeda, but the foreign ministry did not immediately confirm the
information.

The Italian media reported that the journalists,
who were all on assignment for Rai TV, included Amedeo Ricucci, a
correspondent; freelancer Susan Dabbous; freelance photographer Elio Colavolpe;
and cameraman Andrea Vignali. The journalists returned to Turkey briefly after their
release, and then flew to Italy on April 13, 2013, news reports said.

In an interview with the Telegraph, Dabbous said her abductors,
which included Algerians and Moroccans, had detained the crew because they
feared the journalists would blame them for the desecration of churches in
northern Syria. She said the group had been filming the destruction of churches
in a Christian town.

Ricucci told the Italian news agency Ansa that the militants
had thought the journalists were spies who had filmed their base.

Dabbous corrected earlier reports that said the
journalists had been betrayed by their fixer. She said that they would still be
in captivity if it weren't for him.

The leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq on April 9, 2013
officially announced the group's
merger with Jabhat al-Nusra in an audio statement posted on jihadist websites. But
news accounts reported that the majority of the Syrian opposition did not
support Al-Qaeda's goals. In response to the Al-Qaeda announcement, Syrian
opposition leader Moaz al-Khatib said, "The bottom line is that Al-Qaeda ideology
doesn't suit us."

The Committee to Protect Journalists did not report on
the kidnappings after Rai requested a media blackout amid efforts to secure the
release of the journalists.